A modular conveyor system having multiple moving elements under independent control is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,507. The track includes multiple linear encoder readers spaced at fixed positions therealong, and each pallet includes a linear encoder strip having a length R greater than the spacing E between the readers. Track section controllers associate the encoder strips with only one reader at any time in order to resolve the position of the pallets based on the fixed position of the readers and the relative positions of the strips in relation thereto. The pallets include thrust producing magnets for travel independently along the track, where each track section includes a plurality of individually controlled coils stretching along the length thereof The section controllers also regulate and commutate the coils of the corresponding track sections in order to independently control each pallet.